Design and modeling of a periodic single-phase sandwich panel for acoustic insulation applications

Abstract

Sandwich and composite panels are widely adopted in acoustic applications due to their sound insulation properties that overcome mass-law-based partitions in medium–high frequency regions. A key aspect in the design procedure of acoustic panels is the control of the resonance-dominated region of the sound transmission loss (STL) curve. Within that frequency range, such systems usually show acoustic weakness and poor insulation performances with respect to standard single-layer solutions. In the present contribution, we want to highlight an innovative approach to the sandwich partition concept. A novel single-phase sandwich panel is realized by adopting a periodic repetition of a properly designed unit cell. The resulting internal truss structure is self-sustained, and its mechanical stiffness can be tuned to maximize the STL in the resonance-dominated region. A set of parametric analyses is reported to show how the topology of the unit cell affects the noise reduction properties of the panel. Experimental validation is performed on a nylon 3D-printed prototype. The proposed panel is then integrated with some locally resonant elements that can be adopted to further improve the low-frequency STL of the solution. Industrial and production considerations are also taken into account during the design process to make the solution industrially valid with a circular economy focus.